This invention relates to an apparatus or system by which a homeowner, real estate agent or other housekeeper may readily maintain the premises, in particular carpeting and/or flooring free from dirt, mud, snow or otherwise in immaculate condition despite frequent influx of children, potential purchasers of the home, or other visitors regardless of whether the weather outside is clear, raining, snowing, or whatever. Moreover, the apparatus or system disclosed herein may be used to preclude unnecessary cleaning efforts including those situations when children come in with dirty shoes after playing under ordinary conditions, when repair people enter with greasy shoes, or in the case of a hospital, where objections to dirty floors may be a matter of sanitation and not merely aesthetics. In the past, strips of vinyl plastic have been laid down on the floors in homes by real estate agents, for example, both to guide prospective buyers over a prescribed route and to avoid a cleaning job later. The use of such vinyl material poses the disadvantages of expense, restriction in routes, and unsightliness of the vinyl itself.